1. Technical Field
The present invention relates generally to an improved data processing system for processing and displaying messages. In particular, the present invention provides an electronic mail messaging system for automatic e-mail response interruption based on user activity.
2. Description of Related Art
E-mail allows a person to quickly and easily send textual messages and other information, such as, for example, pictures, sound recordings, and formatted documents electronically to other e-mail users anywhere in the world. An e-mail system typically involves a server-based mail program residing on a server computer to manage the exchange of e-mail messages over one or more networks and a client-based mail program residing on the client to implement a mail box that receives and holds the e-mail messages for a user. Typically, these client-based programs also include a graphical user interface to enable a user to easily and conveniently open and read e-mail messages in addition to creating new e-mail messages.
An e-mail user will typically create a message using an e-mail program running on a computer connected to a computer network, such as a local area network (LAN), a wide area network (WAN), or the Internet. The message will include an e-mail “address” for the intended recipient. When the user has finished entering the message, the user may “send” the message to the intended recipient. The e-mail program then electronically transmits the message over the computer network. The recipient, using an e-mail program running on the recipient's computer, can then “receive” the message.
One problem with such an e-mail system is that important messages requiring immediate action may overlooked if the recipient is forced to sort through a mass of e-mails. Computer users may be busy at their computer terminals, focused on solving customer problems or writing relevant technical documents or references. As the influx of new e-mail to a recipient may be constant and rapid, it may be difficult for a user, visually scanning the inbox, to quickly identify important e-mail messages. In some cases, a user may receive hundreds of e-mail messages in a single day. Scanning the inbox is subject to user error in skipping or missing a message.
One solution to this identification problem is for the sender to indicate that the message content is important. Currently available e-mail systems employ e-mail flags to convey this critical information to the recipient. For example, an “urgent” flag setting may be used to indicate that an e-mail contains important information. The sender designates a message as urgent by selecting an option in the e-mail client prior to sending the message to the intended recipient. This “urgent” designation is appended to the message and subsequently displayed in an information field associated with the e-mail. For example, an information field of an e-mail may be populated with an exclamation mark (!) to indicate that the message is urgent. Consequently, when the e-mail is displayed in the inbox, the user may distinguish this urgent e-mail from other e-mails in the inbox due to the exclamation mark associated with the urgent e-mail. However, flag settings merely signify to the recipient that an e-mail, shown within the inbox, contains important information and needs to be read. In addition, current e-mail systems do not provide a clear indication that a particular response from the recipient is pending. Thus, current e-mail systems simply allow a recipient to identify important messages displayed in an inbox.
Therefore, it would be advantageous to have an improved method, apparatus, and computer instructions for indicating to an e-mail recipient that a particular e-mail is important and requires immediate action by providing automatic e-mail response interruption based on user activity. It would further be advantageous to have a mechanism for providing a clear indication that a response from the recipient is pending.